A grieving mother whose daughter died after taking MDMA to celebrate finishing her university exams collected her degree in a moving ceremony just months after her death.

Joana Burns, 22, died following a 'final fling' with friends in June 2017 after paying a dealer just £7 for the drug which caused her to overheat and become gravely ill.

Miss Burns, who had just completed an honours degree in Mathematics at Sheffield Hallam and was post-humously awarded a 2:1.

Grieving mother Mosca Burns (left), whose daughter Joana (right), 22, died after taking MDMA to celebrate finishing university in Sheffield collected her degree in a ceremony just months after her death

Speaking about the devastating moment she was told about Joana's condition, Mrs Burns, 50, described it as 'every parent's worst nightmare'.

Mrs Burns was told about Joana by police officers who came to her home in the early hours of Wednesday June, 7.

She said: 'I'm profoundly deaf and I don't sleep with hearing aids in so they were struggling to get in touch with me.

'It was half past 5 in the morning when they knocked on the door, I didn't hear anything but my youngest daughter Daisy, eight, came and woke me up.

'My first instinct was to invite them in and ask if they wanted anything. It was only when they told me to sit down that I realised it was serious. It's every parent's worst nightmare.

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'I never ever expected it to be Joana, she died at half past 10 that night after her organs started to shut down.'

Her mother, Mosca Burns, has spoken of how she hopes her daughter can be remembered for more than illegal drug use.

Speaking about her daughter's 'passion' for mathematics, Mrs Burns said she wanted Joana's legacy to be 'inspiring girls'.

She said: 'I'm sure, knowing Joana, she would be mortified she was defined by a drug death. It is far more fitting that inspiring young girls in maths is her legacy. We are taking it day by day, but I do take great pride in Joana's academic achievements.

Miss Burns, who had just completed an honours degree in Mathematics at Sheffield Hallam and was post-humously awarded a 2:1. Mrs Burns described Joana as very committed to getting more girls into Maths and said she hoped to go on to teach the subject

'I collected her degree myself where she received a 2.1 degree classification in July. I'd love there to be a national day to celebrate maths and Joana's legacy.'

Mrs Burns described Joana, a student in South Yorkshire as very committed to getting more girls into Maths and said she hoped to go on to teach the subject.

The 50-year-old, who also has older daughter, Cecilia, 25, and younger daughter, Daisy, eight, added: 'Joana was a very clever girl, with a natural talent for maths.

'Her dissertation was actually on the disparity between girls who had an interest in maths and boys. She couldn't understand why there was such social engineering towards maths being such a boys' subject. She was quite adamant about it.

'She thought girls were just as clever as men and just as good at maths if they wanted or were allowed to be.'

Recently, a Joana Burns' Girls in Maths Day was held at Sheffield Hallam University, and was attended by over 100 school girls.

Joana had been celebrating the end of her time at university with friends at The Foundry Club, at the University of Sheffield Students' Union building, on Tuesday 6 June, when she collapsed

The event proved to be so popular the University plans to hold another similar event after Easter.

Mrs Burns said: 'The getting girls into Maths day was amazing, it was an absolutely brilliant day, the atmosphere and the energy was inspirational.'

Joana had been celebrating the end of her time at university with friends at The Foundry Club, at the University of Sheffield Students' Union building, on Tuesday 6 June, when she collapsed.

In a statement given to the police at the time, a friend said Joana, was not 'a regular drug user' and it was a 'one-off final fling to finish University.'

Mrs Burns, from Alfreton, Derbyshire, said because Joana had taken MDMA, her body had overheated.

Speaking about Joana's reaction to the drug, she said: 'To some people nuts are deadly.

'It doesn't matter how well one person reacts to it, it might not be safe for somebody else. It could have been anyone of them or it could have been all of them, they all took it.'

Mosca explained she was 'surprised' how many 'normal' people had tried the drug.

Recently, a Joana Burns' Girls in Maths Day was held at Sheffield Hallam University, and was attended by over 100 school girls. The event proved to be so popular the University plans to hold another similar event after Easter

She said: 'It's surprising how many perfectly normal sensible people have tried it at some stage. The people who are taking these drugs are not the "dregs of society" which some people judge them to be; it's a cross section of "happy go lucky" young people, that's the problem.'

Speaking about the problem with drugs, Mrs Burns said: 'The huge problem with these drugs is the cost.

'It costs £2 a pill I have been told, and the girls spent £7 each that night - that is most certainly cheaper than a "night out on the razzle" as we used to call it.

'For a student, I'm sure the price of these drugs is very attractive, I just don't know how we are going to fight it.'